A Chance Encounter
by TheSexyPineapple
Summary: A darker take on the first meeting between Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint. First ever fanfiction so I'm awful at summaries. Rated T because of mention of rape. A/N- I don't own the characters presented. The sequel is now up.
1. Chapter 1

Their meeting was not a grand one, but it was certainly memorable. Memorable in perhaps the worst sense.

Jenny had been selling matches, nothing unusual, as was her job. She didn't think it shameful to be of such a class as hers. She didn't actually care for the class system that had been thrust upon her from such a young age. She was just a poor match girl, nobody important and she was content in the knowledge that she had grown into what she was expected to be.

Unfortunately, however, that did not remain the case.

It was awfully late, you see, and in the inky blackness that often accompanied the later hours of London's cold winter days she was rather vulnerable.

She could easily be described as a pretty girl, even for her low wage. Many silently wondered why she hadn't ended up selling her body rather than matches, especially at such an hour. Jenny Flint had too much pride for that.

It's saddening that she ended up without a choice.

Jenny had never lain with another, she didn't see it as odd or wrong to not pursue a relationship. Yes, she'd had potential suitors, she just wasn't interested. She didn't desire children and she was getting by on her current pay (though she suspected that it was because her employer was paying her a little more in the hopes of catching her affections).

The night had been growing old and she desperately wanted to just sell a few more. Perhaps if she hadn't been quite so desperate- she didn't even need to worry about food so her desperation was ungrounded- then maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't have so many sleepless nights.

The two burly men had appeared from nowhere, they had apparently had their eyes on the girl for quite some time now. Poor thing.

She might have been able to run if not for the man, the man she had not seen, who grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth with a filthy hand as he dragged her into a nearby alley with his partner, equally as dirty, following with the most disgustingly perverse grin.

No, poor Miss Flint was not rescued. There was no saviour until it was too late.  
She had watched her defilement with eyes wide in terror, revulsion and pain. She was not particularly religious, but oh God it hurt. She didn't blink or scream. Not once. She was paralyzed by fear. Pure, unrefined, fear. Fear that no person should ever be subject to.

Fortunately, some justice was served. But, as Jenny would know for the remainder of her days, it would never be enough.

Said justice came in the form of what looked to be a passing widow.

She had just managed to catch a glimpse of the two men tossing the form of a young woman, in a now dirtied skirt, against the wall, uncaring of what came to their play thing.

Despite what little Vastra knew of human relationships, especially those of a romantic nature, she was certain that they were not conducted in that manner.

The Silurian didn't tolerate this. She went over to the three of them, casting the girl an apologetic look having temporarily forgotten that she was unable to see her face. With a quick slash of a well-sharpened blade one of the men, the accomplice if the two, was dead. The other was frozen in fear, nothing like his victim's though, no, not at all. Not even close.

Vastra removed her hood and positioned herself so only he could see. It wasn't right for the poor thing to be further traumatized.

Her attacker was not quite so lucky.

The man tried to scream for help, to scream 'demon, monster, devil' and all sorts of other wicked names for all of London to hear. But, alas, the words would not come.

She leaned close to him and grinned maliciously. The demon hissed the worst insults and shamings to him in her native tongue, ending his paralysis and leaving him quaking. His shakes didn't last for long. His body went rigid as he felt the cool metal of her sword slide effortlessly into his stomach. He wanted to scream but was unable to. Tears streamed down his cheeks from his small eyes. He was scared and alone. It hurt. Vastra wasn't yet content with his state. The blade twisted and the man whimpered pathetically.

She laughed.

Eventually she dragged her sword upwards into his chest and ended the beast's life.

Jenny could only stare, she had too many emotions flowing through her.  
Before facing the victim she re-covered her face, she couldn't well have tales of a psychotic lizard who murdered two men and left a small defenceless woman alive.

The woman felt very small and very weak, the cloaked killer horrified her and she desperately hoped that this was all some sort of horrible nightmare.

Madame Vastra dragged Jenny up by her wrist, finally eliciting a noise of distress from her.

"Hush child, I am no threat," she hissed, using the same sharpness to her tone that she had used previously.

Jenny weakly struggled against her hold, beginning to cry hot wet tears that burnt and stained her already muddied face.

"Come with me, I am not allowing you a choice," she snapped. Admittedly, she could have been just a little bit more sensitive considering what the girl had just been through.

She squealed quietly and fought against her as she was dragged against her will to the woman's home. She was scared, she'd just been violated and now a vicious murderer had forced her into their, admittedly nice if a little warm, home.

Vastra simply tutted at the girl's idiocy of trying to refuse help, what was she thinking?

"Look, I did not wish for you to be left in that state. You may leave as soon as I at least provide you with some clean clothing."

Jenny backed herself up to the wall and flinched when she knocked over an expensive looking vase, causing it to smash against the floor.

"Look at what you've done!" she wasn't angry, just annoyed with the human and her refusal of help. She soon realised that her tone probably wasn't helping the situation at all. "It doesn't matter, would you like a drink?" she asked with a considerably kinder voice.

She continued to cower where she was, she didn't understand what was going on. Deep breaths. In and out. It would all go away and it would be okay again. She would be back at home and she'd cook herself a simple meal. She would be fine. She was sure of it.

It seemed that her company was not going to respond to her. There was a distinct feeling of guilt she felt for the woman she had welcomed into her home. She felt that she should have arrived sooner, to prevent this evil that had happened. Vastra sighed and left to prepare her guest a drink.

Jenny had not realised that Vastra had left at all, she had been too caught up in looking at the shattered vase for her to notice, so she was extremely surprised to see the cloaked, seemingly faceless, figure before her with a glass of water in a gloved hand. She took it in a shaky grip, so shaky in fact that she nearly spilt it everywhere. Vastra let out a very exasperated sigh and held the glass for her and put it to Jenny's lips.

"I understand that this is pleasant for neither of us, just drink."

She complied and drank, though there was a niggling worry that the strange woman had done something to her beverage. Much to her relief, she didn't find herself falling to a heap on the floor amongst the shards.

The glass, once emptied, was deposited where the vase formerly was.

Vastra disappeared again, this time returning with a folded bundle of clothes that looked about the human's size. She thrust them into her arms and wouldn't allow a refusal.

"People will become suspicious if they see you in that state," she explained.

Jenny was guided to the bathroom, in which she cleaned her face to the best of her ability and changed into the clothes provided for her. The girl crept out of the room and approached the hooded woman somewhat fearfully.

"M- ma'am," she stuttered in a quiet voice, though her accent prominent.

"Hmm?" She turned on her heel to face her.

"Th- thank you for your 'ospitality, ma'am..."

Vastra merely nodded as she took the damaged clothing from Jenny. "I shall dispose of these."

"N-no, don't do that, ma'am."

She gave her a confused look that could not be seen, thankfully Jenny understood the slight tipping of her head as confusion. "I c-can fix it, ma'am."

The taller of the two nodded and gave the creased, torn and filthy clothing back. She was glad to have them away from her, it smelt vile and she tried not to think about the taste.

Vastra headed to the door. "Come, child, I'll take you to your home."  
Jenny had no choice to follow her, the last thing she wanted was to be out there alone, even if the only company was an antisocial woman hiding her face who could apparently use a sword.

The journey to Jenny's home had been a silent one aside from the occasional stifled moaned and sobs from Jenny.

After she had seen her into her own place of residence, Vastra left. It didn't take her long at all to return.

It was only when she had settled in for the night she had realised that she had left the two corpses in the alley. She could go back to eat them or dispose if them but, really, she had standards and she just could not be bothered. Let them be found. Cold and dead and disgusting.


	2. Chapter 2

Jenny was incredibly surprised when she woke up. For a few moments she was blissfully ignorant about why she was so surprised. Then the harsh reality hit her.

The simple fact that she had awakened at all gave her a sliver of hope. Maybe it was just a horrible nightmare. Jenny was a bright girl, she knew she was deluding herself. She knew she wouldn't have wept herself to sleep without reason. Her pillow was sodden with the emotional aftermath of the night before and she was still wearing the clothes the murderess had given her.

She swallowed a thick lump in her throat and picked up her damaged dress. It wouldn't take much to repair, simple stitching and patching and the job would be done. But it wasn't that easy. That article of clothing bore too many memories and thoughts mixed with shame and a corrosive anger.

She'd have to burn it. Eradicate it's existence. Maybe it would make the pain go away. It wouldn't and she knew it wouldn't, but a little hope couldn't hurt.

The pyre would have to wait until later, she had a job to do. Her job. Selling matches. She'd be all alone on that street again. Last night had made it painfully clear that she was vulnerable out there.

She began to fret and worry, an understandably reasonable reaction. Nobody would have been surprised by her sudden refusal to go out after another week of perpetual worry while she was out. Nobody, that is, who knew of what had happened to her. Though nobody else did, aside from the woman with the sword and she wouldn't tell anyone either. She blamed herself, it wasn't right of her. She reasoned that she'd probably given some sort of indication... She shuddered at the thought.

Her employer, despite having his eye on her, gave her the sack as soon as she refused to set foot outside.

No money and no hope, isn't it strange how those two often come together?

The, now former, match girl knew that if she had any hope of surviving in this world then she would have to find another job. Maybe this time in a factory where she wouldn't be alone and so helpless, she was certainly competent enough not to get herself hurt. But she didn't want to.

She didn't want to move from her bed. Didn't want to have to see the light of day (definitely not the moon at night either). Didn't want to put herself at risk.

It was after another week of lying in bed and starving herself that her stubborn streak she'd had all her life was rekindled. Jenny wasn't going to die like this, she deserved better. She deserved at least some happiness and security.

House maid. She could do that. Cooking wasn't her greatest talent but she knew how to do it. Cleaning was easy once you got the bulk of it done.

She'd asked around, a friend of her's had told her about the only opening in the area. There was a woman who owned a house not too far from her own that was inhabited by a mysterious woman who's identity was veiled in very loose speculation.

He wished her the best of luck and patted her back, to which she flinched and looked at him with wild eyes. He'd apologised and reasoned that she was just a little skittish.

She needed work desperately so she had to go to this house. Her stomach was empty and she was weak, there was no other choice.

Her friend had told her of the rumors that she only answered the door during the night. She was dubious, the information had been drawn from speculation and was passed through whispered tales.

Despite her doubt she heeded his words and called in the later hours. The sun had yet to fully set when she rounded the corner. The sky was lit a dull orange, it was the closest Jenny had ever seen to a pleasant London sky.

The scene was awfully familiar but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Her heart-rate quickened as soon as she laid eyes on the otherwise unassuming house. She knew. As soon as she saw it, she knew. Remembered how the woman had given her a drink and dress clothes. Every fiber of her being was telling her to run. And yet she didn't. It wasn't an act of bravery on her part, it was an act of desperation.

Her breathing became ragged as she took shaking steps to the door.

Deep breaths. In and out.

Her hand rested against the solid wood of the door before taking hold of the cold metal knocker.

One, two, three.

It took a minute for the door to be opened. In that minute Jenny hoped that she wasn't going to be answered. In and out. Breathe. It would be absolutely fine.

The door was opened slowly and with a creak that almost seemed deliberate.

Vastra was shocked to see the girl at her door. It wasn't long ago that she had encountered her but she had changed quite a bit. Her skin was paler and she looked ill and frail, perhaps more so than when she had first seen her. Her expression was of clear surprise, that was unknown to anyone apart from herself thanks to the hood she had donned.

"I'm 'ere about the maid job, ma'am," she told her with a timid voice, her fear growing by the second.

The hooded Silurian moved from the doorway without a word, too surprised to speak (Jenny assumed she was normally this quiet), leaving clear entry for the prospective servant.

* * *

A/N- This has got way more views than I expected and thank you all so much, you have made me so happy.

Special thank you to RememberStars for reviewing.

And just a quick apology for this being so much shorter than the previous chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

After Jenny entered the abode the pungent air of awkwardness lifted slightly. Vastra relaxed but it was impossible to tell under all those layers.

Jenny eyed the area of the floor that the vase landed when she was here first to avoid looking at the woman. The sight was not an enjoyable one. Just being there made memories threaten to flood over her. She cleared her throat nervously before addressing her again. "Why haven't you cleaned that up yet?"

She had left the shards where they were, she had no need to clean up. She didn't care about mess, this was the primary reason that she was in search of a maid. That and how lonely it had become. Vastra was the only one of her kind that had awoken to her knowledge. Imagine living in a world where you family is so close and yet you are completely unable to reach them. Then add being the catalyst for local horror stories because people are scared of the way you look and you don't get the most social person around.

Vastra didn't need companionship, she was fine with being alone, what affected her was the lack of intelligent conversation. Hell, if conversation couldn't be attained then, she would settle for someone, anyone, to talk at. The traumatised girl would have to do.

"Because I can hire someone to do it for me," she answered simply and without realising that she had sounded incredibly snobbish.

Normally Jenny would have called her attitude out but she had neither the confidence or the daring at the time. And she didn't want to jeopardise the opportunity for work, even if she would be working for a psychopath. Swallowing her long dormant sarcasm she suggested, "I could do that..."

Vastra considered it for a moment. Was it wise to have someone of her condition around her? What's more, could she be trusted? Jenny had been her first and only applicant so it was hard to refuse. "You could, but equally, I could too."

"But you 'aven't yet, ma'am," she quipped before adding, "and you wouldnt 'ave bein' lookin' to 'ire if you were willin' to."

So she was reasonably intelligent, she could put up with that accent too as long as the was a brain behind it. "You words are true. Why, may I ask, would you come back here?" Her question and curiosity was well grounded, the woman looked scared to be here and around her.

"Work's work, ma'am," she answered, her voice growing ever quieter as time progressed.

Vastra nodded, she hadn't had any other applicants and if she wanted a house maid then she'd have to say yes to this one. A gloved hand was extended towards the girl. "Indeed it is. And it seems you need the work."

Jenny visibly recoiled at the offered hand, fearing that she would be struck by it or the woman had some sort of sinister, ultimately painful, intentions. "Yes ma'am, I do need the work ma'am."

The gloved fingers curled themselves into the creased material covering the hooded woman's palm. She was actually sort of offended by the woman's fear of her, but that soon dissipated when she remembered just why that was. The hand withdrew and was soon back at her side, standing straight and proper, a stark contrast to Jenny's slouched and timid posture. "Stand up straight, girl. You will be in my employ and therefore represent me, you will be expected to act as appropriate," she explained with a subtle edge of authority. Though Vastra looked the part, you know, aside from the scales, she really didn't know how to act it and gave a silent thanks to her long-developed dislike of humans to give her a feeling of superiority that was somehow appropriate for her assumed class.

Suspicious eyes tried to peer past the veil that hid the face of her new employer. "Just like that? You're just gonna 'ire me?" she asked and a frown creased her features before adding the expected, "ma'am."

Her suspicion was incredibly clear and brought a knowing smirk to the reptile's features. "Yes. You're in need of work and I am in need of a maid, it's the logical thing to do. Am I not correct?"

Okay, this woman seemed awfully smug and she didn't like it one bit. The worst part of it was the fact that she was right. "Yes, ma'am, you're right. I'll just get my things and return here tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? But I've hired you today, surely I choose your working hours. You can start now." She knew the girl wouldn't understand why she insisted that she work immediately. In truth, she knew how vulnerable she was and how much Jenny didn't want to go outside, more so now since the light was now waning thin.

"I've gotta get my stuff, ma'am."

"You can't have much of any value, look at what you're wearing."

Jenny looked at her clothes and realised that she was wearing what Vastra had given her, at least that explained the mystery of why it took her so long to adjust it in the morning. "I don' understand, what do you mean?"

"You're wearing the same clothes I gave you. It stands to reason that you would want to have gotten rid of them considering they were given to you by a murderer on the night of-... your incident."

She was right. She didn't have much, just what she needed. It meant for a pretty amicable lifestyle but she knew that it would be foolish to discard a necessity like clothing (the soiled dress was an exception and a valid one at that). "I still 'ave some things though, ma'am."

"You may retrieve them tomorrow. Now you're going to clean up the mess you made."

She opened her mouth to protest but the words of protest were suddenly changed into a quiet, "yes ma'am," when she realised it was probably wiser to just do as she was told, she was at enough risk just being in her presence.

The other woman let out a low laugh, finding Jenny's distress amusing. "Madame Vastra," it was about time she introduced herself.

"Jenny Flint. You're not from around 'ere are you, ma'am?" What sort of a name was Vastra? It didn't even sound like a name. Maybe it was German.

Another laugh was heard, this one was more mocking, however. "You would be very much surprised."

"An' what does that mean, ma'am?"

"I have lived here for far longer than you would think possible, Miss Flint." Vastra moved to the door and locked it shut. She moved her hand to her hood and was about to lower it but stopped when she noticed Jenny's look of intrigue up at her while she got to picking up the shards.

"Out of interest ma'am, why d'you wear that?" she asked, feeling a little bolder than she had been recently, and who wouldn't feel so bold? A murderer had just welcomed her into their home with little to no conditions and hadn't yet made any clear malicious intent.

* * *

A/N- Another thank you to all of you lovely readers.

Thank you to the followers of this story

And special thanks to RememberStars and Spencer Quinn for reviewing.


	4. Chapter 4

"I am sure you've heard of the reclusive woman from Paternoster Row who is rarely seen by anyone," she paused for dramatic effect, "just as I am sure that it is obvious that I am said reclusive woman from Paternoster Row."

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't answer my question, ma'am." She didn't understand why she felt that need to explain that to her, she had seen her herself an knew perfectly well that this was the woman of the urban legends. "Is it because of your skin condition then, ma'am?" Jenny hadn't meant to sound rude but she dropped her head to the floor. You don't just ask someone that.

Vastra stared at her in shock, surprise and a little bit of worry. Had somebody seen her? That should not have been possible. She took very good care not to let herself be seen. The Doctor had warned her and she had took note of it. She did not make such mistakes as this, it was unacceptable of her.

"Sorry ma'am, I didn't mean to offend," said Jenny after a minute or two of Vastra's imposing silence.

"No. There was no offence. You apes aren't qualified to offend me," was her half-mumbled response. She was in a state stuck between awareness and begin lost in retracing her past steps. And she was a little bit offended.

"What do you mean 'ape'?! You aren't any better than me!" Her voice grew louder as a torrent of suppressed emotions threatened to burst through the banks. Fortunately Jenny had just the right amount of control to draw herself back in. And then the memory of watching Vastra kill those two men washed over her and the fear settled back in.

The lizard took a few deep breaths before taking her turn to speak. "What I mean, Miss Flint, is that your species is inferior to mine." She was again about to lower the things covering the green scales that made up her face but thought that it would be much more amusing to see Jenny's face after dragging this out for a bit.

"Are you mental or somethin'? What's this 'bout species?" There was an underlying pride about Jenny, pride simply for getting her words out without her voice shaking on a single syllable. That would have been wonderful if not for the sea of fear that she was now floating in.

Yet another laugh came from Vastra. "Poor little Jenny Flint, you're going to have to open your mind a tad. As for the remark about my psyche; you're hardly one to talk, being witness the the murders of two men and knowing where the culprit is and not informing the local authorities, not to mention being perfectly willing to be in her household too."

"I- I 'ave no other choices." She didn't argue with the first part about not reporting anything. There were a multitude of reasons why she hadn't alerted anyone, amongst which were her not wanting anyone to know about what happened to her, she'd much prefer to pretend it had never happened and live in a perpetual state of denial, and because she highly doubted that the police would, much less could, do anything about Vastra.

"There are always alternatives," she muttered wisely with the voice of somebody who knew what she was saying very well from experience.

Once again she brought her hand, still gloved, up to her hood and gripped the fabric loosely. A second later the other hand did the same and in a motion that was well practised and dramatic, the hood and veil fell to reveal the green scales that made her face.

Brown eyes swelled to the size of saucers. That was not possible. Now she was certain that the recent events had all been that of an incredibly complex and awful nightmare. People weren't green or scaled, this was obviously something conjured up from the deepest parts of her mind. And so it was decided. No more tea before bed, it obviously did nothing good for her. Jenny, apparently the only human in the room, wanted to scream but she had again entered that horrible state of fright that prevented even the quietest noise to be made.

Vastra was pleased with her reaction, judging it far better than what she had expected. She'd expected screams of terror, maybe a prayer, curse words being flung at her from an ill-educated tongue, general things roughly along those lines.

"You're being rather quiet, it's a pleasant change from the usual."

She finally snapped out of her paralysis and scrambled to her feet with all of the shards, even the tiniest splinters, in her hands. "What are you?" she asked slowly, carefully, enunciating each word as one might do if talking to someone less than fluent in their second language even though Vastra quite clearly understood English as well as a practised scholar.

"Not an ape, for starters. Mind you, your kind do make excellent main courses," she mused, not at all meaning to sound as threatening as she unfortunately did.

"You're gonna eat me?!" she squeaked, the fear rapidly building back up and crushing her weak human body. She wasn't sure if she was offended by that, at least she knew she wasn't an idea meal.

"What? No, you're small and don't look appetising. Add that to the fact that I have just employed you to be a much-needed maid and it doesn't stand you on a serving tray for the ideal meal."

"I still don' know what you are, ma'am," the pride she had felt before had disappeared since it took about three times for her to say that clearly.

Madame Vastra cleared her throat and looked down at the shorter woman, preparing her well-practised explanation. "I am a Silurian, we are a race intelligent bipedal reptiles long pre-dating your own species," she told her with no small amount of smugness, she didn't really have a reason for being so smug, it was more of a 'I was here first so I'm better than you' mentality. You would have thought someone so refined as herself would be more mature.

She nodded, pretending to understand when, in reality, she just wanted to stop talking about this. This was definitely the most complex dream she'd ever had. However, her voice began acting against her and the questions kept being fired. "Does it 'urt?"

"Does what hurt?"

"Your skin, ma'am, does it 'urt?" she asked though it wasn't a very polite thing to ask and she stumbled over her words to save herself from igniting her mistress' anger, "I mean, in case I 'ave to get you anythin' from the shop."

Vastra rolled her bright blue eyes, a stark contrast to her scales. "This is not a skin condition. I just made it perfectly clear that this is normal."

"But you're green! They never said that when they talked about you!"

Vastra relaxed somewhat, perhaps she hadn't actually been seen and the rumours had just been theories about why she kept her face hidden and so rarely was seen leaving her home. "The words of drunkards and fools should not be taken in good heed."

"You shouldn't even be real! Things like you don't exist!"

She flared her nostrils at Jenny and gave her a low hiss, a warning. "I am not a 'thing'. I am a person just as you are and I, unlike you, have done a lot a lot for this city. I have asked for nothing in return aside from no interference and all I get in thanks are tall tales of a mentally ill woman that is commonly mistaken for the proverbial monster beneath a child's bed."

That shut Jenny up. Her head bowed in a primitive display of submission and apology. Vastra spoke with such passion and subtle underlying emotions that made her seem far more human, and yet not, than her appearance portrayed.

"I, Miss Flint, am not a monster," she said solemnly.

"I know you aren't, ma'am, I'm sorry for how I reacted." And she was. Vastra had at least tried to save her and now she was welcoming her into her home. Then she showed her her face, but that was because she had every right to not feel judged in her own home and her maid would have to get used to it anyway.

"It was the natural reaction. It is probably evolutionary, we did hunt you apes before. And you did see me stab a man and laugh at his pain. You're welcome for that by the way."

She was welcome? Did that lizard thing actually think it had done her a favour by killing him in front of her? It may have helped her feel the tiniest bit better about it, knowing that their ends were met with pain and callous purpose and that they wouldn't ever get the chance to bring about harm to anyone else. But it didn't have much of an impact, well it did but not much of a positive impact. Their faces were still imprinted to the darkest depths of her mind and burned into the inside of her eyelids.

Vastra gestured to the remnants of the vase still in Jenny's hands. "The bin is in the kitchen, just walk past the sitting room, you can't miss it," she told her as she motioned the directions with her still gloved hand.

Doing as she had been instructed, Jenny went into the kitchen and deposited the shards into the bin. She took it upon herself to inspect the cabinets when she caught an odd scent, if Vastra asked her what she was doing then she'd answer with something along the lines of 'I 'ave to know what' I'll be expected to cook, ma'am,' when she really just wanted to snoop around. Vastra probably knew that.

"I wouldn't open that one if I were you," a voice warned from the doorway.

Jenny turned to see Vastra smirking and in a completely different outfit, one with poofy sleeves, a waistcoat, some sort of long skirt and some very odd silver ring things around her neck. "An' why not?" She kept her hand on the wooden door to what looked to be the entrance of a pantry.

"I imagine you wouldn't like the sight or smell."

"What's in there?" she asked, but wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know.

"By all means, take a look in there, I won't stop you, but please don't empty the contents of your stomach like the last human did."

The warning she had been given was quite alarming and she hesitated before pushing the door open. She swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat at the sight of numerous raw, still bloody, animal carcasses. "Why...?"

She was impressed by her new maid's steely resolve and rewarded her with a straight answer. "Silurians are carnivorous. I personally like raw meat, and blood, I find, is a refreshing beverage. Don't worry, you will only have to cut the meat into portions for me, it doesn't have to be done neatly. You may help yourself, you see my supply is plentiful. There is an oven that you are permitted to use so you should be fine when it comes to food."

Jenny closed the door, the stench was getting too much for her. "Humans don't just eat meat ma'am," she complained without realising that she was being improper and probably offensive.

Luckily Vastra didn't find it offensive at all, she wouldn't understand why anybody would be. "Then you can get some other sustenance, I'll give you the money to purchase your goods."

Vastra's kindness towards her had been quite astonishing to Jenny. Yes, it wasn't the standard run-of-the-mill perception of kindness but simple things such as the clothes provided that the lizard was as figuratively cold blooded as she came across. She offered something reminiscent of a smile to Vastra, it felt strange and foreign for her features to mould into that after what seemed like so long, and thanked her.

Naturally she brushed the thanks off, saying that she had to supply the help with enough to do their job.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N- I feel like I'm taking a massive risk with this chapter and I am really unhappy with the outcome, so I'm really sorry if all my plans fall through and you stop enjoying this story. I blame my beta readers for not answering me when I asked them if this was a mistake. You can all blame me.

* * *

It was almost a year since Jenny had been hired by Madame Vastra and it was safe to say that it was going rather well. Jenny cleaned and prepared Vastra's meals when she required them, she had even gotten over the sickness she felt when she had to hack through the bones of various animals with a meat cleaver. There were many times when Jenny had asked why her mistress didn't simply eat the entire thing, that's what she did with humans so why couldn't she do the same with a pig? The Silurian reasoned that she enjoyed savouring her food, she couldn't do that whenever she ate a human, the evidence always had to be gotten rid of as quickly as possible.

The pair were on fairly good terms, even if Jenny had been far quieter than usual lately. She had spiraled back into the depressive state that the constant work for Vastra had coaxed her out of. While Jenny was preparing food for Madame whenever she was asked to she hadn't eaten herself, it had gotten to the point where Vastra even went out and purchased food for Jenny. It had taken her too long to find a maid, nay, she didn't just think of Jenny as a maid, she was a friend, twisted though their friendship may be, and she'd be damned if she was going to lose the first friend she'd had in a long time. Now that she thought about it, could she really consider her a friend? She paid for Jenny to work for her and she seemed very reluctant to talk to her at the beginning of her employment, she still was sometimes. more so recently. Eventually she came to the conclusion that Jenny was, in many ways, similar to a prostitute. Now it wasn't as odd a comparison as it seemed, Vastra paid Jenny for her services, men paid prostitutes for the same.

One evening, while Jenny was cleaning blood from a chopping board, Vastra approached the subject in a manner only someone unfamiliar with human customs could, "Jenny, are you a prostitute?"

Jenny looked up from the bloody water and felt something warm run down her cheeks. Of all the times to ask her that question it had to be now, good going lizard. She felt even dirtier, the red stains from raw animal flesh were nothing compared to how dirtied and soiled she felt on a far deeper level. Sobs wracked her body and she sank to the floor, no, no, she was better than this, better than crying in front of the emotionally challenged reptile.

Why was she crying? Human secretions were strange and confusing. She knew that humans cried when they experienced negative emotions and very positive ones. That was quite a range, it was too difficult for Vastra to differentiate between the two so she was stuck in the doorway with an expression of bewilderment. "Would you like a drink?"

The maid had collapsed into a puddle of reddened sink water and tears, her sobs making it difficult to breathe. She hated that stupid scaled freak and she hated everyone else and she hated herself.

For the second time Vastra made Jenny a glass of water. "Drink. It helped you before," she urged after deciding that Jenny looked just about the exact opposite of happy.

She took the drink and didn't need assistance this time, workings under Vastra had made her even more self reliant and capable of looking after herself. While grateful for Vastra and her rare open kindness, she was suspicious of her motives. She always was like this now days, untrusting of almost everything. It was normal, she was living with a serial murderer, who was often sent at the request of Scotland Yard, and it was coming up to the anniversary of, of...- She choked on the water just thinking about it. Her coughs and splutters had brought a smack from a scaled hand to Jenny's back. The smack helped get her airways clear again and she looked up at Vastra thankfully.

Vastra dragged Jenny up from her place on the floor by putting her arms under the human's and using her strength to heave her up. "I'm well informed that humans do not typically act in this manner when asked a simple question."

She had to laugh, in spite of everything Vastra's cluelessness served to improve her mood. "No ma'am, I'm not a prostitute."

So now she was laughing? Why were humans so erratic with their emotions? Yes Silurians had a complex range of their own, mirroring humans' in more ways than they'd often care to admit, but they weren't at all like this. "Oh. Thank you for clearing that up." She was relieved that she wasn't committing any sort of social taboo.

Jenny continued to cry but the sobbing wasn't nearly as bad. "Why d'you ask, ma'am?"

"It's simple really, I pay you to do what I want you to."

"Sometimes I forget that you ain't human," she mumbled. Jenny coughed to fill the silence that they now shared. "You can let go of me now ma'am."

Vastra looked at her arms, still supporting the younger woman. "Are you going to fall to the floor again?"

She shook her head. "No, sorry for bein' like this ma'am, you know 'ow it is." And she did, they both did.

The Silurian detective, still an unconfirmed rumour amongst most folk, released her friend and put her hand to her shoulder. "I see I was insensitive, I apologise."

"Nothin' to apologise for ma'am, just a little 'motional." She kept her eyes firmly fixed to the glass she had managed to keep hold of as she spoke, ashamed of her emotional outburst.

"Such can only be expected from a mammal, especially an undisciplined one such as yourself."

"Undisciplined, ma'am?" she'd long since stopped picking up on the mammal and ape remarks, Vastra oft didn't mean any insult to her.

"Humans lack the refinement that Silurians have. Our justice system is superior as is our intellect. And, Miss Flint, do you know why that is?"

Jenny was able to lip-sync to Vastra's speech, the lizard was ever so prideful. "Because of your training, ma'am," she replied, trying not to sound bored.

"Exactly! It is from a young age that we are given blade then blaster, it is that that gives us our sharp minds. We're intelligent to know how to govern ourselves to bring order. And just as our superiors govern us, we know how to govern ourselves."

Blah, blah, blah, boring, boring, boring. "With all due respect ma'am, you give me this speech a lot."

She flashed her a grin of bright white teeth and her eyes glittered with purpose. "You're vulnerable, are you not?"

"Well I-"

"Silence! You are." Vastra stepped carefully around the girl. "But, I can change that."

Jenny was getting confused, she looked at Vastra and wondered if the surface world was finally getting to her head.

"I saw you earlier," she continued, "looking at my swords." Her grin morphed into a smirk, the movement seemed to make her scales dance across her features. "And sometimes, not at all often, I would appreciate assistance while doing whatever it is the Yard requires of me."

So she had been looking at her! She knew that Vastra had caught her eyeing her blades while she practised. "What are you gettin' at ma'am?"

"I'm asking for your help, Jenny."

* * *

A/N- Another quick thanks to all you readers and everyone who is following and favouriting this story.


	6. Chapter 6

She frowned, it was an odd thing for Vastra to even need help, let alone ask for it. Perhaps she was planning some sort of sinister plot... it made sense. Now that she thought about it that, though wrong, seemed more and more likely to her. She had outlived her usefulness, normally she would just be told to leave but she had gotten in too deep. She knew the infamous woman's schedule and when she'd be most vulnerable. Vastra would have to kill her before it was too late.

"Jenny," she waved her hand in front of her face, "are you listening to me?"

"Can we talk aboutt this later ma'am?"

* * *

Jenny crossed her arms as she watched Vastra relax in her chair. She did that a lot, she'd just sit in front of the fire and be silent for hours on end. There was one time when Jenny had found her curled up next to it with just the barest dregs of clothing on, it had taken a long time to explain why Vastra should warn her somehow next time she was doing that, it only took that long because the lizard kept asking why Jenny had turned such a lovely shade of pink.

Okay, maybe she hadn't said lovely, but she was thinking it. She thought a lot of the things about Jenny were lovely; her hair, the way she smiled when she was genuinely happy, her ferocity, even the accent now. But it was just her, she couldn't care less about other humans. Just Jenny.

Vastra valued Jenny above all other humans and, it was safe to say, Vastra was Jenny's favourite Silurian. They had a strong friendship, those were usually formed when one saves the other's life on a regular basis, Vastra would probably have been dead a few times over if not for Jenny's back-up and vice versa. Jenny would distract them if Vastra ever looked like she was in danger and Vastra would kill anyone who so much as looked at her maid the wrong way; sometimes it was Jenny remembering things when Vastra didn't, like an extra layer on a particularly cold evening. Whenever she was cold now she would simply draw Jenny in and use the ice in her veins as an excuse. It was nice, both of them were glad they'd found each other. Because they were friends.

However, there were still days when Jenny doubted that they were really friends. Recently she'd caught Vastra giving her these looks, looks that she'd imagine a lion would give it's prey. These thoughts weren't outlandish, she had seen her eat a human. Good times.

Honestly Jenny thought she only saw Vastra as a friend, albeit a close one. She didn't realise that she saw how her muscles shifted as she practised, or how her scales moved as she breathed and she certainly didn't notice how the different shades of green changed when they reflected reds and oranges when she sat by the fire. No, not at all.

"I know you're there," Vastra mumbled with her eyes closed, "and I know you've been there for a while."

The maid flushed and stood up straight, normally she never noticed her- wait, what if she had? This was awful. Why was she so embarrassed? "Sorry, ma'am... just wonderin' if you wanted somethin' to eat..." she lied quietly.

"No, thank you, I shouldn't need to eat for at least three days."

There was a time when she would have grimaced at what she was implying, but now she was used to it. "Yes ma'am, good to hear."

Vastra opened her eyes and turned her head to her maid. "You're bored."

Again, Jenny did not notice the scales of her neck change position to accommodate the movement. "I've cleaned everythin' ma'am, there's nothin' else for me to do." She hated how Vastra could now analyse her after spending so long in her company. It irritated her that she could somehow read her like a book and yet required Jenny to tell her what any other human felt.

"You aren't always required to work, you are aware of this aren't you?" She noticed the girl's frustration. "Don't frown, it isn't becoming. I order that you take a break. Come, enjoy the warmth."

She knew how much Vastra loved the fire and it made her smile, hearing her contented was a pleasant change from the polite bland requests she normally got when talking to her, at least she didn't get the aggression people she interrogated got. She hasn't noticed when her legs had taken her to sit beside Madame's chair.

The, rather languid, Silurian looked down at Jenny and shifted herself over to one side, her seat was large enough for at least two people to sit comfortably (she'd insisted on such a large one because she'd often curl up on it. Jenny didn't think it was adorable).

Jenny joined Vastra on the chair, it wasn't the first time they'd sat like this. The lizard leaned against her maid, instinctively attaching herself to anything that radiated warmth, it wasn't the first time that had happened either and Jenny didn't mind it. Bright blue eyes fluttered closed, no longer letting the light dance of the irises, as soft human fingers traced the scales of her forehead. The entire scene was a regular one and one that neither would admit that they enjoyed aloud.

"Tell me, do humans often do this?" Vastra asked quietly, much to Jenny's dismay. "You've tensed up. Why?"

Jenny didn't stop her fingers trailing over the other's face, it relaxed them both. She thought about it for a while, she knew of couples who enjoyed sitting together by the fire, they were nothing like them though. They were normally married and if they weren't they were courting. The two of them were not doing that and neither of them desired to. At all. "Some do ma'am."

She made a soft noise of understanding. "And my other question?" She took some of her weight from Jenny and sat up straighter.

"It's difficult to explain ma'am... It's different 'cause you ain't human."

She removed Jenny's hands and held her wrists while looking at her. "Jenny," she said slowly, "what's wrong?"

"Your hands are warm," she mumbled on a poor attempt to change subject.

Vastra hissed in frustration and stood in front of Jenny. "I think I've proved that I'm not going to hurt you, you can tell me what's going on," her voice took a darker edge before continuing, "and I'll slaughter the cause."

"Just sit back down ma'am, nothin's wrong."

Vastra sat back down and played with Jenny's hair. Her hair, she thought, was nice, just _her _hair though. She gently pulled it from its usual bun and held a few strands between her fingers. "You know, your hair is made of the same thing as my scales."

She avoided looking at Vastra and flushed. "That's interestin' ma'am."

The lizard halted what she was doing and settled her hands in her lap. "Sorry, humans are just so... foreign to me."

"It's alright ma'am, it's to be expected."

Then Vastra did something entirely unexpected. She leant down and kissed her before Jenny could object. It was brief and little more than pressing her lips against the human's.

Jenny didn't pull away or resist, she just gawked at her, startled.

"So, have you considered my offer yet?"

* * *

A/N- Thank you to all of you readers and people following and favouriting, it really makes my day.

Thank you to philadeamous and establish6h for reviewing the last chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

In reality, Jenny didn't have a choice in the matter. Vastra wanted to train her, so she would be trained. Simple as that.

They bought Jenny new clothes that were far easier to move in, ergo they were easier to fight in. She needed them, any help was needed when she and Vastra sparred, that lizard was vicious and didn't know how to hold back.

They never mentioned the kiss, it was as if it had never happened. Jenny assumed Vastra didn't quite understand the connotations of the act, Vastra didn't deny it. A lot of things changed after that. Jenny became quieter and more callous, while Vastra grew even more violent with criminals. They didn't sit like they used to, nor did they talk as much.

She was a simple maid working under her lady, that was all.

* * *

A/N- Thank you all for reading, I would apologise for such an anticlimactic ending but that is exactly what I wanted.

Thanks to all those who reviewed/ followed/ favourited, it was really appreciated.


End file.
